La Fromagerie in London

We recently visited La Fromagerie in Marylebone, London.  Run by Patricia Michelson, the author of "Cheese" (our Christmas present from Andrew's mum), it is a renowned cheese shop in London specialising in French cheeses.

Actually its a bit more than a cheese shop, it's a cafe too, as well as selling lots of organic veges, baked goods, cured meats & other delicious foods.  It has some celebrity fans like Jamie Oliver and is famous for its walk-in cheese room.  

Unfortunately Patricia wasn't around on the day we visited so we didn't get to meet her and get her to sign her book but we did spend a good long while in the cheese room looking at the huge range of lovely cheeses; Andrew was paticularly taken with all the small, beautifully crafted, soft goat cheeses.  We did taste a number of cheeses and selected three cheeses to take home for our friends to try - one white, one blue and one yellow.


#12 - Bocconcini di Capra

A white-mould pasteurised goat's milk cheese from Italy.  Its a relatively small round - about 10cm in diameter with a slightly open, soft, stabilised texture (at the time we tasted it) and a slightly firm rind.  The paste was really glossy and very white with a thin drier yellow rind and light mould coverage.  It had a fresh, goaty aroma along with the slight mushroom from the white mould and a lightly green flavour.

Bocconcini di Capra

#13 - Comte d'Estive 

A cow's milk hard cheese from France.  At 45% fat, this cheese struck us as particularly yellow compared to other hard types, enhanced by the alpine pasture the cow's graze on.  There is some drying out towards the rind, which is golden brown, firm, dry and slightly sandy textured from maturation in traditional cellars.  This was the favourite cheese of our London friends with savoury, fruity and slightly nutty flavours and distinct soapy undertones characteristic of this style.  

Comte d'Estive

#14 - Picos de Europa (Valdeon)


Picos de Europa/Valdeon can be made from solely cow's milk or a mixture of cow and goat's milk.  The example we tasted seemed most likely to be just cow's milk.  It is made in a round and wrapped in sycamore leaves.  A very white paste in the centre with slight brown staining from the leaves near the rind with substantial and even veining through the cheese.  This was my favourite cheese with a creamy, salty well rounded flavour and slightly earthy finish provided by the leaves.

Picos de Europa

Part of the cheese room showing the shelf containing all of the small goat cheeses.